How to Grow Hyssop

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How to Grow Hyssop

Overview

Hyssop is lovely in the landscape and useful in the kitchen. Although it's often planted in herb gardens, it works well in the back of a flower bed, and if you keep it pruned, it makes a great border plant. Hyssop is easy to grow and once planted, it requires very little care. The leaves can be used to season soups and stews, or sprinkled on fresh fruit. Hyssop tea can provide relief for sore throat and congestion.

Step 1

Plant hyssop seeds after the ground has warmed and there is no danger of frost. Cover the seeds with about 1/4 inch of soil and they will germinate very quickly. If you plant the seeds in rows, leave at least a foot in between.

Step 2

Thin the seedlings in early summer to keep them from becoming overcrowded. Give the thinned plants away or replant them elsewhere.

Step 3

Trim the hyssop occasionally to keep it from becoming leggy, and remove the spent blooms. The leaves can be clipped for use in the kitchen whenever you like.

Step 4

Cut the hyssop in the fall. Gather the stems into bunches and hang them upside down in a warm, well ventilated place out of direct sunlight. After the plants are dry, strip off the leaves and flowers and store them in jars or plastic containers. Throw the stems in the compost pile because they are tough and have very little flavor.

Things You'll Need

Hyssop seeds

References

Information on, Uses of and how to Grow Hyssop

Cultivation of Hyssop

How to Grow Hyssop

Keywords:
hyssop, herb garden, butterflies

About this Author

M.H. Dyer is a longtime writer, editor and proofreader. She has been a contributor to the "East-Oregonian Newspaper" and "See Jane Run" magazine, and is author of a memoir, “The Tumbleweed Chronicles, a Sideways Look at Life." She holds an Master of Fine Arts from National University, San Diego.